What Makes a Lemur Listen by Samuel Langley-Swain and Helen Panayi

I bought this when I saw it recommended as one of the Babipur book club books. I read it with my 6 year old who was captivated by the story and what Maki was going to do next. She also felt that maybe he should be listening to his grown ups. Oh the irony!

It will be a book I reach for with both of my children to help with the ‘why it’s important to listen’ message without sounding like a harassed parent! This book does some of the hard work for you in a gentle way and is a lovely story too. It made me smile reading it and my oldest asked for it again the next night! That’s a win in my book.

Our first babipur book and we’ve really enjoyed this one and the message within the story. The illustrations is lovely and my son loves finding the hidden Chameleon on the pages.

We have absolutely loved this book!
A lovely story about a lemur Maki who..well didn’t listen

Long review - sorry!

One of the first things you notice about a book is the illustration right? The beautiful art immediately drew me into this book. The faces throughout are so expressive, making it easy for little ones to pick up on the emotions and follow the story. It's also rather amusing in parts for the parents, who have seen the facial expressions often on their own little ones. They reminded me of my 4 year old daughter in particular, who is very expressive, and often has that look of strong independent innocence when she doesn't listen. She's always so confident in her own assessment of whatever she's currently doing.

Infact one night, when Freya had a full afternoon of not listening which resulted in quite a few accidents and tears, I read this as her bedtime story just the two of us. By the end we were cuddling and saying how much we loved eachother. It's not a book about punishment and how they should listen to absolutely everything. I personally think independence, forming your own viewpoint and learning from mistakes is important too. This story though is beautifully written in a way that shows "Mama just wants to look after Maki and keep him safe" As parents we know that can often be challenging, and I had empathy for Mama being exhausted. I also really felt for Maki too though as sometimes rules aren't fun, especially the ones they hear over and over again that are in place to keep them safe. In real life, little ones often need to hear something rephrased, from a different voice or think they're making the choices themselves, and that's just what happens in this story. It was a nice reminder for parents but also a really great tool to help children.

When I read the book through for the first time, I really didn't like the line said by Mama "Maki- If you want to be in MY troop, you HAVE to LISTEN to me and follow MY rules." It reminded me heavily of the old "whilst you live under my roof you follow my rules and if you're not gunna- get out" I think I was triggered by the unfair rules I often had to follow and the consequences I faced. Then I realised how great it was that I felt that. It reminded me to set rules that matter, not to be controlling, and really think how little ones view it and feel from their side. It was a talking point, and I could remind my little ones that I love them so much even when they're not using their listening ears.

The story definitely gets the message across, but in a fun charming way with beautiful images. The first time we read this as a bedtime story, I had my hands full with my baby who decided that was clearly the perfect time for more mummy milk. My 7 year old was so into the book, he took over and read it to us all with ease. We went back through the book afterwards to find the chameleon hiding and talking to Maki in each sequence of text. My children didn't notice the chameleon on the first read through, and really thought maki was listening to his own intuition. It was so exciting for them when the chameleon stopped camouflaging to save Maki from danger. This book really is great and I'm sure it will be reread as a bedtime story over and over, especially on those tricky days when we all need a little reminder.

We where lucky to be gifted this book for my 8 year old son with autism.
He is lemur obsessed and thought the book was amazing. I as a mum loved the talk it sparked after about the importance to listen and follow rules.
He just loved the lovely colours, the smooth feel of the pages and gorgeous illustrations. Haha.
We will keep reading it over over that's for sure.